Three boys on board - and some musings on the costs of owning a boat

Date: Jan 30, 2021
Weather: Sunny and windy 
Waters: Peak of an unusually high tide, but turned quickly before return trip
On board: C, J2 and Pudding   

The following entry was posted by C, since A wasn't along for this ride. 

There ya go: C with Pudding,
and then J2 with Pudding ...
the three boys on the boat this round.

The first trip out for 2021 was one for the boys, literally - only three males on board. It was a hastily-arranged trip, with much of the usual crew sidelined due to last-minute commitments. The weather was a challenge, too: Who can forget the wet, wet weather that greeted the first two weeks of 2021?

But a break in the clouds emboldened C and J2 to drag Pudding along and go for it, and, as usual, the trip was well worth the price of admission. A late start meant making a beeline for our usual lounging spot off the SAF Live-Firing Area, and a planned dinner at 6.30 pm with the rest of the family meant there was less time than usual out at sea. The boys made the best of it anyway - good music, beers, and a lively conversation were crammed into three hours or so. 

Apart from the future of work, property, and the usual discussion about their beloved Liverpool FC, one topic of conversation in particular might pique the interest of boaters: The cost of owning a boat, and how long we might be able to keep this up.

The chat was sparked by a spate of repairs over the last few months. Having arrived brand-new in December 2016, LW2 is now just a shade over four years old. Niggly affairs, such as peeling paint, mouldy seats, and general cosmetic issues have required seeing-to. 

In our years of boat ownership, however, we have found the occasional mechanical hiccups to cost way more. On one particularly hot afternoon in 2020, the air-conditioning refused to work. It turned out to be a minor issue - a faulty pressure switch, but a hefty, four-figure bill was presented, despite the fact that the replacement part cost in the low three figures. 

An earlier episode of strange power interruptions was fixed relatively cheaply, but the repairs threw up a bigger problem: the exhaust elbows and gaskets had to be replaced.

Leaving aside the issue of the condition of LW2 - it is in almost mint condition despite its age, courtesy of a rigorous maintenance schedule and a generous amount of TLC - this has been puzzling. 

LW2’s engine hours are very low, but corrosion has still managed to set in. We have made only 36 trips on it in four years. (Thanks to this boat log, we are precise about that.) We are not sure of the average among boaters, but if we had made a trip out every other weekend, which seems a reasonable amount for the investment, we would have had to make the repairs in a year or so! 

OK, perhaps that is simplifying it. One has to, of course, account for exposure to the elements and such, but still!

Anyway, to cut a long story short, ordering the parts and getting the latest repairs done forced us to pony up that high four-figure sum that would have been better used on Christmas shopping. A GPS fix and other minor repairs pushed the total into five-figure territory. 

Far be it for us to complain about what looks to be First-World problems, but ad hoc repairs are one thing. There are also ongoing recurring expenditures - the monthly outlay for berthing at Raffles Marina, a boat-washing fee (OK, in a pinch, we can save on this by doing our own washing), marina membership and petrol for this 26-footer Sea Ray Sundancer 260. 

Petrol will cost us more, thanks to the hike in petrol duties. It has normally cost about $400 or a little less than that to top up the tank. The next tankful is going to be way more. 

So all in, even when we don't go out, we'd say it costs about $1,200 a month to be the owner of a boat this size (which is still pretty modest, we think).  

And now, with A and C having fewer sunrises ahead than behind them, the elephant in the room will have to be confronted - sooner rather than later. Retirement, forced or otherwise, beckons, and boating is simply not a leisure activity for those above 65 with modest means. 

J2 derided the idea that we will have to sell the boat soon, promising that the children would pick up the slack, being in good jobs and all. But that would be unfair: Having a boat was our idea. From the earliest days, we wanted, most of all, to give the kids a different experience, and since we are also fans of the great (?) outdoors, a boat seemed just the ticket. I venture that has been achieved, and then some.

Each boating trip has been such a great family occasion. Wading ashore on deserted islands, cooking under the stars, chugging beers with abandon under the azure skies ... that's just the half of it. We have decorated our boats (LW and LW2) with Christmas lights and had parties on them while docked, painted anchor ropes in inclement weather, been aground, hoping for the tide to beat the fading light, navigated by instinct through a horrendous storm, and even been adrift at sea in darkness after engine failure. 

Sure, there has been some fear at times, but those are just some irksome memories in a library of good ones. We’d recommend a boat to anyone.

Alas, as they say, all good things must come to an end. And for us and Little Wanderer 2, each passing day brings us closer to a fateful decision.